Unit3Acts of Kindness
Part I Narration(Objective Narratives)
Activity1Practicing points of view
☞Identify the point of view in the following passages and explain why it is suitable for the narrative.The first three passages are selected from Contemporary College English, Intensive Reading(Second Edition).
1.The story is narrated from an objective third-person point of view.The narrator merely
tells what he observes and does not examine the mental processes of anyone involved.
2.The first-person point of view is used in this passage,in which the narrator is a
participant in the action described.This point of view allows the narrator to freely
express his opinions and feelings about the student.
3.The writer tells the story in the limited third-person point of view,in which an unknown
narrator describes what happened and reports the man’s thoughts and feelings.
4.The second-person point of view.The writer is giving direct instructions to job
applicants.
☞Which point(s)of view do you think is(are)appropriate for each of the following topics?State your reason(s).
1.Either the first-person or the third-person point of view is appropriate for a short story.
2.Only the first-person point of view is appropriate for journal/diary entries.
3.The first-person point of view,for this point of view allows writers to easily express
their joy and excitement on such an occasion.
4.The objective third-person point of view.The primary task of the writer of history
books is to faithfully present historical events.
5.The second-person point of view,which allows the writer to tell the user how to use the
material.
6.The second-person point of view,which allows the writer to give instructions.
7.The objective third-person point of view,because witnesses are supposed to report,
faithfully and impartially,what they have seen without offering interpretation and
commentary,which this point of view does not allow.
8.The first-person point of view,which allows the expression of attitudes and feelings,
thus making the narrative personal and vivid.The third-person point of view is also
appropriate.
9.Both the first-person and the third-person points of view are possible.The incident can
be narrated by either a first-person narrator who is an observer or a participant,or a
third-person narrator who enters the mental processes of one or more of the people
involved.Both points of view allow interpretation and commentary.
10.Both the first-person and the third-person points of view can be used for the same
reasons as stated for the previous topic.
Correct the shifts in the points of view in the following sentences and short passages.
1.During the border crisis,both countries refused to change their aggressive attitudes./sort out his feelings
During the border crisis,neither country agreed to change its aggressive attitude.
2.If a person finds a wallet containing money and an ID card,what do you think he/she
should do?/If you find a wallet containing money and an ID card,what do you think
you should do?
3.Every time I visit the Forbidden City in Beijing,I will discover new attractions./Every
time you visit the Forbidden City in Beijing,you will discover new attractions.
4.When you go to Paris,you should visit the Louvre and Notre-Dame Cathedral./When a
person goes to Paris,he or she should visit the Louvre and Notre-Dame Cathedral.
5.To keep in good shape,one must not only exercise but also watch his/her diet./To keep
in good shape,we must not only exercise but also watch our diet.
6.As you enter the garden,you will find an exquisite huge rock formation on your left./
As one enters the garden,one will find an exquisite huge rock formation on one’s left.
7.Professional writers report that one of the joys of their craft is the repeated opportunity
to explore new fields.
8.Creative thinking can expand our awareness and open the door to new points of view.
Often it is capable of generating many points of view on an issue or many answers to a
question before we begin thinking critically about them.
9.Budgeting is really a type of planning.And,like other forms of planning,it creates
freedom.When you have a budget and stick to it,you can relax.You are confident.You
don’t have to worry about whether you can pay your bills.Budgeting is easy because it
is mechanical once you get started.The idea is to project how much money is coming in
and how much is going out.
10.When you write,you not only gather information;you also assess it.You sift through
the data,play with it,and sort it out.You look for relationships among facts and choose
ideas that are useful to you.Through writing,you turn data into insight.
Activity2Readings on the topic
(1)
Night Watch
Questions to think about
1.Because the marine knew the patient wanted to see his son and took the marine to be his son.
He didn’t want to disappoint a dying man,so he stayed on and played the part of the son.
2.He performed an act of kindness,a noble deed.
3.The man must have felt happy and contented to be with“his son”in the last few hours of his
life.Otherwise,he would have left the world with deep regret.
4.The objective point of view,for the narrator just reports what happened without saying
anything about the thoughts and feelings of anyone involved.
5.It conveys the thesis of the narrative.
6.The writer focuses on the primary scene—how the marine played the role of the dying man’s
son.He did exactly what the old man expected from his son in the last hours of his life.This is far more powerful than dramatizing the marine’s thoughts and feelings.
(2)
The Man in the Water
Questions to think about
1.The first two paragraphs form the introduction of the essay.In this part,the writer,Roger
Rosenblatt,begins with a brief account of the air disaster and ends with the thesis statement of the essay in the last sentence of the second paragraph:“And on that same afternoon, human nature—groping and struggling—rose to the occasion.”
2.In the next six paragraphs,Rosenblatt goes on to describe and analyze the deeds of four
heroes—what they did to rescue the survivors of the air crash struggling in the freezing cold river.
3.Two of them were a police helicopter team who risked their own lives each time they lowered
a rope and ring for a survivor.Another hero jumped into the water and dragged an injured
survivor to shore.The fourth hero himself,the man first known as“the man in the water”was one of the s
urvivors.Each time a lifeline and flotation ring was dropped to him,he passed it to another survivor.When the helicopter came for him again,he had gone under.
4.The writer wants to show that the man in the water was an ordinary person,doing exactly the
things people usually do on a flight.In the water,he knew what would happen to him if he continued to pass the rope and ring to others,but he was willing to do so.Rosenblatt wants to say that every human being is capable of doing what he or she has never thought himself/herself able to do when circumstances require them to challenge death.
5.Rosenblatt argues that in this struggle between man and nature,the man in the water
challenged death,and his act of kindness prevented nature from taking the lives of the other five survivors,thus convincingly demonstrating the strength of human nature.
In the last paragraph,he reiterates his thesis in a more emphatic way and points out that in the struggle between man and nature,the man in the water represents human nature at its best. 6.Yes,this point of view allows him to imagine the man’s behavior on his flight and his
thoughts and feelings when he was struggling in the water to live and when he passed the rope and rin
g to other survivors.Also,using this point of view,he could reflect on the fight between man and nature,the implications of the selflessness of the man in the water,and the power of human nature.
(3)
All in a Day’s Work
Questions to think about
1.The first two paragraphs form the introduction.The first paragraph is a detailed description
of the patient—a rather disgustingly dirty man nobody wants to have to treat.In the second paragraph,the nurses’unspoken message was communicated to the head nurse:that they all hoped that she would not put them in charge of this patient.These paragraphs provide the background against which the head nurse performed the unusual act of kindness.
2.He was very dirty and unhealthily fat,definitely a person that people would try to avoid.
3.To do what others would not think of doing,what is regarded as impossible,and take charge
of those that others would not like to deal with.This quality enhances the human spirit.
4.She took charge of this patient when no other nurse wanted to.What’s more,she tenderly
bathed him,rubbed his back and put lotion and powder on his skin.She hummed and talked to the man to ease his fear and embarrassment.This shows that she did everything for the man not only because it was her job as a nurse,but more importantly,out of love and compassion for a fellow human being.
5.The third-person point of view.It enables the narrator to reveal the thoughts and feelings of
the head nurse and those of her colleagues.
Activity3Readings written by your peers
Questions to think about
1.The first follows a two-paragraph pattern:The first paragraph provides background
information and describes the noble deed,and the second states the thesis.The second essay uses a three-paragraph pattern:The first supplies background information,the second describes the noble deed,and the third conveys the thesis.
2.The first adopts the objective third-person point of view without presenting anybody’s
thoughts and feelings;the second uses the limited third-person point of view describing one person’s thoughts and feelings.
3.Yes.The point of the first narrative is that to protect people’s property,a police officer
must crack down on criminal acts;the point of the second is that a person should not take what does not belong to him/her.
4.Answers vary.
5.Answers vary.
Part II Effective Sentences(Emphasis)
Activity4Practicing making sentences emphatic
Underline the part(s)of each sentence or set of sentences creating emphasis and analyze how emphasis is achieved.
1.Certainly my own life,my husband’s life and my children’s lives are diminished by their
absence.(repetition of key words)
2.Inside the carton was a push-button unit fastened to a small wooden box.(inversion)
3.You’ll probably understand better when you are a mother yourself.(reflexive pronoun)
4.We have here no vast mountain ranges,no boundless plains,no miles of forest,and are
deprived of the grandeur that may accompany these things.(repetition of key words)
5.This is where I got my first kiss,smoked my first cigarette,and buried my first pet.
(repetition of key words)
6.With variety goes surprise.(inversion)
7.But before you have reached them you have already been surprised by a bit of
marshland…(main idea in the end position)
8.The stupid neither forgive nor forget;the naive forgive and forget;the wise forgive but
do not forget.(repetition of key words)

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